Sept. 9 (UPI) -- The Oklahoma City Thunder and coach Billy Donovan have mutually agreed to part ways after five seasons.
Oklahoma City announced the move Tuesday night. The Thunder posted a 44-28 regular season record in 2019-2020 before they lost to the Houston Rockets in the first round of the NBA playoffs in Orlando, Fla.
'Coaching the Oklahoma City Thunder the past five seasons has been a great honor, and I thank [Thunder owner] Clay Bennett, general manager Sam Presti and the entire organization for the opportunity,' Donovan said in a news release.
Billy Donovan Fired
The Chicago Bulls hired Billy Donovan as their coach Tuesday, landing one of the top candidates on the market to lead a rebuilding team with an overhauled front office.
- William John Donovan Jr. (born May 30, 1965) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach of the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA), a position he took in September 2020. Donovan had been the head coach of the NBA's Oklahoma City Thunder from 2015 until 2020, and previously served as the head basketball coach at the University of.
- The Chicago Bulls weren't on Billy Donovan's radar when he and the Oklahoma City Thunder parted ways after five successful seasons. Things sure changed in a hurry. “I wasn’t looking at anything,'.
'I have a great respect and admiration for the players I coached in Oklahoma, and I also want to thank the coaches I worked with, who gave unbelievable time and expertise to our common goal.
'Lastly, I want to thank the Oklahoma City community for being so welcoming to my family during our time here. This place will always be special to us. I will always hold this organization in the highest regard and wish the Thunder and their fans the success they deserve.'
Donovan posted a 243-157 record during his tenure with the Thunder. He had an 18-23 mark in the playoffs. The Thunder wnet 55-27 in Donovan's first season. He was hired on April 30, 2015, after he spent 19 years as coach of the Florida Gators. His contract with the Thunder expired after the 2019-2020 season.
'I have great respect for Billy and will always appreciate our work together. He is a terrific basketball coach and we are proud of what he has accomplished with the Thunder,' Presti said. 'We had planned to sit down at the end of the season and discuss the best way to move forward for both of us.
'After those discussions, it became apparent that we couldn't provide him the information on the future direction of the team over the next several seasons to give him the level of clarity that he understandably desires at this stage of his career. Therefore, we close this chapter and reflect fondly on all that he has given to the team, organization and community. Billy will always have a place in the Thunder family.'
Donovan is likely a candidate for several job openings in the NBA after coaches were fired after the season. The New Orleans Pelicans, Indiana Pacers and Philadelphia 76ers are among the teams without a coach.
Donovan was National Basketball Coaches Association's co-coach of the year alongside the Milwaukee Bucks' Mike Budenholzer.
When Billy Donovan left the University of Florida for the Oklahoma City Thunder, it was to coach a team featuring Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. He got that chance for exactly one season, reaching the Western Conference Finals, blowing a 3-1 lead to the eventual champion Warriors, and then losing Durant to Golden State as well.
Now, after five seasons in Oklahoma City, the Thunder and Donovan have decided to go their own ways.
ESPN Sources: Oklahoma City coach Billy Donovan won’t be returning to the Thunder next season. Donovan’s contract expired at season’s end and the sides have decided against pursuing an extension.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) September 9, 2020
Woj expanded on the situation here, and it really does seem like a truly mutual, agreeable parting of ways:
The reality of Oklahoma City’s eventual transition toward a rebuild made it a challenge for the two sides to find a way to continue forward together, sources said. https://t.co/gKRsM7jYle
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) September 9, 2020
With reduced league revenues amid pandemic, there remains uncertainty on how long the Thunder might continue with key veterans in place before changing course on playoff contention. The timetable on so many plans in the NBA remain fuzzy. This was an extremely amicable parting. https://t.co/jUHQ2kiuEo
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) September 9, 2020
Donovan’s first NBA job probably didn’t go as he was expectingb once Durant left after one season. (At least he got that one season, though, which is more than Byron Scott got with LeBron in Cleveland.) The Thunder became the Russell Westbrook show, with Donovan seemingly ceding to the narrative that none of the supporting players were good enough to merit Westbrook not trying to average a triple-double over an entire season. (Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis both seemingly proved that idea wrong once they got to Indiana.)
Then, after the Russ solo act season, the Thunder added Paul George from the Pacers, once again giving Donovan two star-level players to work with, something few coaches get once much less twice. But in two years with PG and Westbrook, the Thunder failed to win a playoff series. Then George, like Durant before him, also left for a California team, and the Thunder made a move towards rebuilding, shipping Westbrook to Houston for the aging Chris Paul.
This season, Donovan’s fifth and now final one with the Thunder, was maybe his best work if we’re judging by the standard NBA-coaching evalation of comparing results to expectations. The Thunder even took Houston to the final moments of a Game 7 before bowing out, despite being outmanned in the talent department. Donovan was voted co-coach of the year with Milwaukee’s Mike Budenholzer, and it’s wild that one of those guys is now leaving his job and the other one faced a ton of playoff criticism.
Donovan remains a bit of an enigma, though, even after five years; it’s hard to pin down any kind of definitive style or strategy, not even something like Nick Nurse’s “will adjust on the fly constantly”, which has become a style of its own. Donovan clearly didn’t do a bad job there, and his reputation still seems solid in league circles; Woj is already noting that other teams with openings will likely have interest.
The Chicago Bulls are expected to have an interest in considering Donovan for the franchise’s head coaching job, sources tell ESPN. The Bulls are just completing a first-round of interviews with several candidates. https://t.co/jUHQ2kiuEo
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) September 9, 2020
Players play hard for him, he never seems overmatched, and there wasn’t massive locker room drama or upheaval like we saw earlier this season in Cleveland when John Beilein made the move from college to the pros. (Remember that? It feels like 15 years ago now.) Donovan, in that sense, deserves credit for adjusting his style and managing a locker room at the pro level. He seems like a solid coaching option, especially for a rebuilding team like the Bulls. Whether he’d be the right choice for a team with superstar players and a win-now mindset, though, is a tougher call.
Both Durant and Paul George ended up leaving, after all, with Durant taking some shots at Donovan on the way out (which he later apologized for.)
@webelieve2017 there you go pic.twitter.com/ruA2yV8QHE
— name (@ColeCashwell) September 18, 2017
Did Billy Donovan Get Fired
But that was also after just one season for Donovan in the NBA. Presumably he’s learned and evolved from that experience, and it’s also taking the word of Kevin Durant, who has never been the easiest player to coach. (Kenny Atkinson never even got the chance to.)
And as to why Donovan’s coaching style hasn’t made much of a mark, it’s important to look at that roster volatility. Arguably just once (George’s second season there) did Donovan get to carry over a system built around the same top player(s). It’s tough to build any kind of continuity under those circumstances.
Whether it’s in Chicago, New Orleans, Philadelphia, or elsewhere, Donovan is going to get another NBA job if he wants one. Maybe there we’ll get to learn more about what he brings to the table as a professional head coach.
Billy Donovan Chicago Bulls
[ESPN]